Super Phinney - Super Cool

Taylor Phinney has been fixated about this time trial ever since the race course was revealed and after having the Pink Jersey as his desktop background for months he managed to make his dream come true and win the first stage in this year’s Giro d’Italia.

From the way he had been practicing on the course the last two days it was clear to see that he would do great today and despite bike problems before the start he kept his cool and showed the world what he is capable of doing.

Taylor Phinney didn't panic but kept his cool
when his bike had to get fixed before the start.

At the obligatory UCI bike check right before the start it turned out that Phinney’s saddle wasn’t even and therefore had to be fixed. Phinney didn’t panic and had confidence enough to stand there smiling when his saddle got put into the right direction.

Many of the other rider, aiming to do well in his time trial, put up a stone face when they got on the starting ramp, but not Taylor Phinney. Despite having put an enormous pressure on himself he still took the time to wave out to the audience when the presenters said his name.

As cool as he was before the start, just as cool did he turn out to be on the course. Taylor Phinney smashed Geraint Thomas’ time by 9 seconds and took the first Pink Jersey in Giro. Truly impressive!

GIRO EXCLUSIVE - Uran hopes for Top10

Team Sky may be build up the team around Mark Cavendish for the sprint stages, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have riders for the overall classification. One of them is Rigoberto Uran, and according to the young Colombian he is ready to fight with the best for a spot in the top10.

“I feel very good right now and I’m ready for this Giro. It’s a very hard and very long Giro and the last week seems to be very tough. I will take it day by day and see what happens but I’m aiming for Top10, no doubts about that!”

To help him in the mountains Rigoberto Uran can count on help from Sergio Luis Henao. The rest of the team is all about Mark Cavendish.

Giro Expert Preview - Stage 1

Gianni Savio explains:
This is a difficult time trial because of the many corners. You have to pay attention at all the time not to crash. For the climbers it’s good because the corners also means you have to change the rhythm many times so they won’t lose as much time as if it has been a straight out prologue.

My favorites for the stage win are Taylor Phinney and of course Alex Rasmussen because he has a lot of motivation on his home soil.

GIRO EXCLUSIVE – “I fear Denmark more than Stelvio”

Last year Ag2r surprised a lot of people when both John Gadret and especially Hubert Dupont turned out to be some of the strongest riders in the mountains. The expectations are therefore very big this year but Hubert Dupont makes it clear that his job first of all is to help Gadret before taking his own chance.

“My ambitions are the same as last year. My goal in this Giro is to help John [Gadret]. That is my job, but of course when that is said I would like to go for a stage win and hopefully end in the top10”.

In the Tour de France a couple of years ago Ag2r team leader Nicolas Roche had a puncture and asked John Gadret for his wheel. Back then Gadret refused to help Roche in order to get a nice result for himself. Asked about such a situation, Hubert Dupont has no doubts.

“I will help John as much as I can. That is why I’m here. If something should happen to John it will be up to the managers in the car to decide what I should do. It is not my call to make”.

Many of the pure climbers fear the windy stages in Denmark, some more than other. Hubert Dupont has a very good way of explaining his fear.

“To be honest I fear the wind in Denmark more than Stelvio”.

Giro Interview - Gustav Erik Larsson

Gustav Erik Larsson at his best on the
time trial bike on his way to glory.

Giro Interview – Gustav Erik Larsson (Rider, Vacansoleil-DCM) For four years Gustav Erik Larsson was a part of the Danish Team Saxo Bank but when one of the biggest races in the world, Giro d’Italia, actually starts out in Denmark, Larsson finds himself in the colors of the Dutch Vacansoleil-DCM team.

I made the following interview with the strong Swede on Thursday evening before the team rushed off to dinner.

Gustav, how is it not being a part of the Danish team when the Giro starts in Denmark?
To be honest I haven’t actually thought about it before now, but it is kind of strange thinking about it. I used to ride with Bjarne Riis’ team, now we are in his city and I’m not a part of the team anymore.

But you are happy with your change of teams?
Yes it’s been a great start for me with the win in Paris-Nice. Last year was a very bad year for me. I had a pretty awful winter and that’s why I didn’t do better in the first part of the season. But before that I think I have had three really good years with Saxo Bank and now I hope I can come back and show what I’m worth.

So what are your ambitions for the Giro this time?
I’m going for the overall classification actually. I will try to hang on for as long as possible on the climbs and the two time trials are very good for me. I aim for a spot in the Top10 but we will have to see how the legs respond first. I don’t think it’s possible to gain back very much time [in the time trials] so it’s important not to get dropped in the mountains.

How do you feel compared to 2008 when you ended 14th in the GC?
It was my first season with Riis and I was in very, very good shape. I think I can do it again.

First we have the prologue on Saturday. What do you think you can do there?
It’s always difficult to say. There are a lot of riders who are not time trial specialists but still able do to a very good prologue. I mean it’s only 8,7 km. Of course I would like to win it like I did in Paris-Nice but it won’t be easy. It would have been good for me if there had been a little hill or something to make it more tough, but I think it’s an okay route. The only thing is that it’s actually rather late on the day so it will be a little bit chilly outside.

What about the team time trial?
Well, if you look at the individual riders we have some very strong time trialists, but the problem is that we haven’t trained together. Still I think it can be fine for us if we just get the tactic straight and everybody moves around like they are supposed to when it counts on the roads.

Do you fear any of the stages in this year’s Giro?
On the first stage in Denmark we are going to ride alongside the sea so I hope it won’t be chaos. Anything can really happen on that stage, especially if it’s windy as well. We have to pay attention and be prepared. 

Let’s end with talking about the GC favorites. Who is your pick?
Hmm. Ivan Basso is always a strong contender, but I don’t know if he is ready yet. If he is though, then I think he will win it. I doubt it will be one of the pure climbers, but then again there are some very tough climbs on the menu, so you never know. We will see what happens.

Giro d’Italia 2012 - The Favorites

Giro d’Italia 2012 - The Favorites The way I see it this is one of the most open Giro d’Italias in many years. Last year Alberto Contador was the mega favorite and the year before him Ivan Basso. This time Contador won’t be there and it’s still unclear if Ivan Basso has fully recovered from his crashes earlier in the season.

Looking at all the GC-contenders I have managed to narrow it down to about riders with an actual chance of winning the Giro. Let’s take a look at them.

Roman Kreuziger
Last year Roman Kreuziger made the Giro d’Italia his big goal of the season. He wanted to end on the podium but in the last week the tough mountains turned out to be too hard for the young Czech. He ended 5th overall and this year it’s time to step up. All the way up I think! Ever since he helped Maxime Iglinsky to a podium place in Strade Bianche, Kreuziger has been among the best riders in all the races he has taken part in. He ended 3rd overall in Tirreno-Adriatico after strong performances in the mountains, 6th in Giro del Trentino (despite a hunger-knock on the last hard mountain stage to Passo Pordoi) and recently he ended 6th overall in Tour de Romandie with a strong time trial. There is absolutely no doubt that Roman Kreuziger is ready to take on the Giro. Another important fact is that Astana is one of the strongest teams in the race with riders like Petrov, Seeldrayers, Dyachenko and especially Tiralongo to help Kreuziger in the mountains. Also Astana should be one of the best teams in TTT compared to the other favorites’ teams. I expect Roman Kreuziger to be on the final podium and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up winning the whole thing.

Michele Scarponi
Two days before the Giro d’italia starts out in Denmark, Michele Scarponi officially got rewarded with the Giro win from last year. Many expect him to win it ‘for real’ (on the roads) this time and together with Roman Kreuziger he is also my big favorite for the title. Scarponi stood out in Trentino for not standing out, but I think he is ready anyway. Last year his results were better before the Giro than now, but don’t be fooled by the stats. Michele Scarponi will get excellent help in the mountains from team mate and former Giro-winner Damiano Cunego as well as from Przemyslaw Niemiec and on the time trials he should lose much time to the other GC-contenders. Scarponi is experienced enough to know how to ride a good race and without Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali this year, Scarponi really is the guy to beat if you want to win Giro d’Italia.

José Rujano
You may have to wait two weeks to see him, but then he will be there. The final week of this Giro is extremely hard and for little José Rujano it couldn’t be better. Recently he showed in Trentino that the condition is good and with a couple of weeks to get to a 100% you can be sure that Rujano will do damage in the mountains this year too. Some might say that the biggest problem for Rujano will be the time trials, but actually it’s himself. José Rujano is very much driven by his heart and how he feels and if he doesn’t has his head in the game all the time, he could easily end up losing the race on a day with no real danger. He also needs to pay attention on the first stages in Denmark where the wind can split up the peloton at any given time. I don’t think José Rujano can win the Giro, but if he hasn’t lost too much time before the peloton reaches the high mountains (stage 14) I think he will make the podium. Anything but a spot among the five best riders in the overall classification would surprise me.

Fränk Schleck
I already wrote about Fränk Schleck’s chances in his Giro right here, so I won’t do much more now. Fränk Schleck got called up and asked to ride the Giro just a week prior to the race and that extra rest could come in handy. The first weeks aren’t so demanding as we have seen in the past and that means that Schleck has the chance to enter the last week a little bit more fresh than his opponents. He may not win the Giro, but I think he will be a very strong contender for the podium.

Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez
Of course Purito has to be on my list of favorites. Last year he started out the Giro a little bit sick but ended in a very strong way and took 4th overall. Like José Rujano, Purito needs to be careful on the first windy stages in Denmark and hope his Katusha team won’t lose too much time in the team time trial. Dani Moreno will be there to support Purito in the mountains and if start the last week within 1½ min of the other favorites you would be a fool not to count him in as a player for the podium – at least. This year Purito finally won a big classic (Fleche Wallone) and with that extra morale boost I think he will do a great Giro d’Italia.

Some may wonder why I haven’t mentioned Ivan Basso among my five top favorites. It’s simple. I really don’t know if he is ready or not. His two crashes earlier in the season seemed to set him back a lot and even though he looked better and better in first Trentino and the Romandie, the Giro is still something different. You have to on the top of your game to win and I honestly don’t know if Basso is there yet. Like Fränk Schleck he may be able to benefit from an easy start and then be ready for the final week, but I have my doubts. I hope Basso will be there, that would be good for the race, so let’s hope he proves me wrong this time.

Normally I would pick a few jokers for the GC but this time I don’t really see any in the very top. Riders like John Gadret, Ryder Hesjedal and Rigoberto Uran all have the potential of doing top10 and maybe even more, but not to win the Giro.

I will take the chance and give you my pre-top10 of the Giro d’Italia 2012
1. Roman Kreuziger
2. Michele Scarponi
3. José Rujano
4. Fränk Schleck
5. Purito Rodriguez
6. Ivan Basso
7. John Gadret
8. Ryder Hesjedal
9. Marco Pinotti
10. Rigoberto Uran

Welcome to the Giro d’Italia

Everything in Herning is colored pink!

For almost a week Herning has its very own ‘Little Italy’ part of town. Well actually it's the whole town! Color me impressed or more suitable, color me pink. From the moment you arrive you are being greeted with pink Giro d’Italia flags, posters, balloons etc etc. The chairs outside of the cafés are pink and you can’t take one step without being reminded that the Giro is in town.

Alongside the route of the prologue and stage 1 people have already set out chairs and tables (in pink of course) and you’ll find pink balloons and other welcoming messages on the facade of many houses in Herning.

Herning and its people are getting
ready for the Giro d'Italia 2012.

The sun is shining and the sky is blue. It couldn’t be better for the start of Giro. One week ago the weathercast showed heavy rain during the first stages in Denmark, but now it looks a little bit better.

Let’s hope the weather won’t change much during the next couple of days so everybody in front of the TV-screens will see how much Herning loves the Giro!

I will post my preview and favorites for the race on Friday. Stay tuned!